Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, clearing a major hurdle in his bid to become the nation&#8217;s permanent attorney general after senators voted along party lines, 12-10, to send his nomination to the full Senate.
The committee vote came after weeks of scrutiny over Blanche&#8217;s tenure as acting attorney general and his previous role as President Donald Trump&#8217;s personal defense attorney. Senate Republicans are now expected to move toward a confirmation vote before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess. 
A Senate Republican source told The Daily Wire that leadership&#8217;s goal is to hold a confirmation vote before senators depart Washington later this week.
The nomination drew heightened attention in recent weeks as several Republican senators sought additional assurances from Blanche on issues ranging from the Justice Department&#8217;s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation to the administration&#8217;s abandoned &#8220;Anti-Weaponization Fund.&#8221;
Republican Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX), who had previously withheld their support while negotiating with the Justice Department over the fund, ultimately voted to advance Blanche after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/key-gop-holdouts-agree-to-back-todd-blanche-for-attorney-general">receiving written commitments</a> that the department would formally rescind the Anti-Weaponization Fund. Tillis had also pressed Blanche to meet personally with victims connected to Jeffrey Epstein and work with lawmakers to ensure the controversial fund could not be revived.
Cornyn said the agreement provided the assurances he had been seeking. 
&#8220;They&#8217;ve been consistent about their assertion on behalf of the United States of America that the weaponization fund is dead, and of course I expect them to live up to that in any future litigation,&#8221; Cornyn said. &#8220;Given this agreement with Mr. Blanche, I expect the department to live up to this in future litigation, and I will vote to advance him out of the committee today.&#8221; Cornyn also argued that confirming a permanent attorney general would provide stability for the Justice Department.
Democrats remained unanimously opposed to Blanche&#8217;s nomination, arguing he would be unwilling to act independently from President Donald Trump. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said Blanche had failed to demonstrate he would be willing to stand up to the president when necessary. 
&#8220;Throughout the decades since the Watergate crisis, both parties have consistently recognized the importance of an attorney general who can and will stand up to the president and say no, and serve as an attorney general in defense of the Constitution, not just the agenda of any one president,&#8221; Coons said. &#8220;Will acting Attorney General Blanche meet that standard? We have clear evidence he will not.&#8221;
Coons also argued that Blanche&#8217;s agreement to eliminate the Anti-Weaponization Fund was insufficient, saying nothing would prevent him from reinstating it after confirmation.
The committee&#8217;s top Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), focused much of his criticism on the Justice Department&#8217;s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Durbin accused Blanche of overseeing efforts to review the files for references to Trump and criticized the department&#8217;s release of documents containing identifying information about Epstein survivors while, he argued, shielding powerful associates. 
&#8220;Mr. Blanche refused to tell me who gave this order, but former Attorney General Bondi made it clear, saying Blanche was in charge of the Epstein files,&#8221; Durbin said. Durbin also criticized Blanche&#8217;s recent meeting with Epstein survivors, calling it a &#8220;box-checking exercise&#8221; and accusing him of refusing to pursue investigative leads suggested by the victims.
Blanche has consistently defended the department&#8217;s handling of the Epstein investigation, arguing the Justice Department has been transparent and remains committed to prosecuting anyone found to have committed crimes connected to Epstein.
Earlier in the confirmation process, Blanche told lawmakers: &#8220;We have been extraordinarily transparent. There are no closed investigations. If we learn today, if we learn next week, if we learn next month that there&#8217;s an individual who we can investigate, indict, and prosecute out of the Epstein files, you better believe that we will.&#8221;
Republicans also questioned Blanche during his confirmation process on issues including mail-order abortion litigation and the Justice Department&#8217;s review of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-republican-senators-make-big-demand-of-todd-blanche-ahead-of-confirmation-vote">D.C. Five case</a> involving five aborted babies recovered from a Washington abortion clinic in 2022.
Earlier this month, more than 50 Republican lawmakers urged Blanche to investigate whether the babies were victims of illegal partial-birth abortions or infanticide. The Justice Department has since said it is reviewing the matter and will investigate any credible allegations of criminal conduct.
President Trump strongly backed Blanche&#8217;s nomination throughout the confirmation process, praising his performance as acting attorney general. &#8220;Todd has done a PHENOMENAL job,&#8221; Trump wrote on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116919780125305335">Truth Social.</a> &#8220;He is tough, brilliant, and 100% LOYAL to our Constitution, and the American People.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Todd Blanche Advances To Full Senate Confirmation Vote After Heated Hearing

Abortion

Attorney General

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

Epstein Files

Jeffrey Epstein

John Cornyn

Politics

Senate

Senate GOP

Thom Tillis

Todd Blanche

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON — Two key Republican holdouts have agreed to back Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, clearing the path to his confirmation following days of dramatic and public negotiations.
Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas put out a statement on Monday announcing that they had successfully negotiated a &#8220;legally enforceable document,&#8221; gaining <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/todd-blanche-makes-move-to-secure-votes-from-two-gop-holdouts">clarity from Blanche</a> on the &#8220;Anti-Weaponization Fund&#8221; as well as the IRS audit. They thanked Blanche and his team for working with them and said they are looking forward to &#8220;voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon.&#8221;
“From the outset, we were clear that we needed a written document addressing our concerns on the IRS audit agreement and the anti-weaponization fund that included constraining the scope of audit protection by limiting it to the parties of the Settlement Agreement and legally ending the anti-weaponization fund,&#8221; Tillis and Cornyn announced.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1149345" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/key-gop-holdouts-agree-to-back-todd-blanche-for-attorney-general/texas-sen-cornyn-holds-up-judiciary-committee-confirmation-vote-on-blanche-2" rel="attachment wp-att-1149345"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1149345" class="wp-image-1149345 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288333545-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288333545-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288333545-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288333545-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2288333545.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) answers questions from reporters trailing after him following a vote in the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)</div>
“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,&#8221; they added. &#8220;Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Tuesday on Blanche&#8217;s confirmation, and a full Senate floor vote is expected later this week.
The news comes after President Donald Trump suggested last week that he might pull Blanche&#8217;s confirmation until the two Republicans blocking his way had departed the Senate.
“Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday. “I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.”
The president described Blanche as a “star” with the “potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time,&#8221; slamming Cornyn and Tillis for refusing to vote for Blanche.
The senators had threatened to derail Blanche’s nomination over the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, a plan the DOJ said it had abandoned after pushback from lawmakers and after a Clinton-appointed judge had issued a temporary restraining order on the fund in May. Last Wednesday, Cornyn told Punchbowl News that the DOJ’s written proposal did not satisfy his demands.
“They know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it,” Cornyn said, sharing that he had cancelled a scheduled meeting with Blanche.

Texas Sen. Cornyn Holds Up Judiciary Committee Confirmation Vote On Blanche

Key GOP Holdouts Agree To Back Todd Blanche For Attorney General

A federal jury <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5998412-hadi-matar-guilty-rushdie-stabbing-federal-terrorism/">convicted</a> Hadi Matar of terrorism charges linked to the 2022 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/author-salman-rushdie-loses-use-of-eye-and-hand-after-stabbing-attack">stabbing</a> of author Salman Rushdie. The 28-year-old from Fairview, New Jersey, was found guilty of attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah, engaging in an act of terrorism that crossed national boundaries, and providing material support to terrorists, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/federal-jury-convicts-new-jersey-man-terrorism-offenses-relating-his-attempted-murder-salman">announced </a>earlier this week.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said, “Matar spent more than a year immersing himself in Hezbollah’s violent ideology and preparing to act on a fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollahs calling for Mr. Rushdie’s murder.”
“His brutal attack on Mr. Rushdie during a peaceful speaking event is a chilling reminder of the global reach of Iranian terrorism. With today’s verdict, justice has been done, and Matar will pay for his crimes,&#8221; Eisenberg added.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York said that &#8220;Matar, who was born and raised in the United States, chose to align his values with the terroristic values of the leaders of Iran, which often promote violence, and in this case, the call for murder.”
DiGiacomo said Matar spent months preparing to kill Rushdie and hoped to emulate radical Islamic terrorists he looked up to. The attack did not succeed. Rushdie survived the stabbing after members of the public and law enforcement jumped into action.
The attack occurred on August 12, 2022, when Matar charged Rushdie and stabbed him in the neck just before the author spoke at the Chautauqua Institution in Mayville, New York. Rushdie’s injuries proved more severe and required him to be placed on a ventilator. The co-moderator of the event was also wounded.
Evidence presented by the government shows Matar researched the fatwa for more than a year, checking whether it remained in force, before he decided to act on it. The fatwa was originally issued in 1989 by Iran&#8217;s former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, endorsed in a 2006 speech by Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, and later reaffirmed in 2017 by then-Supreme Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ali-khamenei">Ali Khamenei,</a> who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes earlier this year.
Before the attack, Matar discussed the fatwa and Hezbollah’s endorsement of it with people in Iran, Australia, and Canada. He constructed videos with titles such as Rushdie_Fatwa 2.0 and Rushdie_Fatwa 1.6 that combined footage about the fatwa with Nasrallah’s 2006 remarks. He also surrounded himself with symbols of Hezbollah martyrs. 
Matar used a false identity to reach the event that Rushdie was speaking at in August 2022. He traveled as Hassan Mughniyeh and carried a counterfeit driver’s license under that name. The first name came from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The last name came from Imad Mughniyeh, who once led the terror group’s external security operations.
The Justice Department noted that Matar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sentencing is set for November 3 before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. 
This federal case follows Matar’s earlier state <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sentence-is-in-for-american-who-stabbed-novelist-salman-rushdie">conviction</a>. In May 2025, he received the maximum 25-year sentence for second-degree attempted murder, plus a concurrent seven-year term for the assault on event moderator Henry Reese.
After the state sentencing, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said the attack continues to affect Rushdie. Schmidt described the author as traumatized and said he still has nightmares about the stabbing. Schmidt called it a serious setback for a man who had begun to reenter public life in his later years after long periods of hiding because of the fatwa.
The federal conviction centers on the terrorism related counts tied directly to the same attack. Matar will next face sentencing on those charges in November.

Hadi Matar

Jury Finds Salman Rushdie Attacker Guilty Of Helping Hezbollah

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Hezbollah

Iran

Salman Rushdie

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that he might pull the confirmation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche until two Republicans blocking Blanche&#8217;s confirmation have departed the Senate.
Blanche would remain as acting attorney general, the president shared on Thursday morning, slamming Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) for refusing to vote for Blanche.
Cornyn and Tillis have expressed apprehensions about Blanche, saying they would not vote to confirm Trump&#8217;s DOJ appointee until their concerns have been addressed.
Two sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire on Thursday evening that the DOJ had submitted a written response to both senators that addressed their concerns. But Trump&#8217;s post on Thursday morning indicated the response had not been good enough — and that he&#8217;d figure out another way to circumvent the senators.
<div id="attachment_1147257" style="width: 805px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-threatens-to-pull-blanche-nomination-until-problematic-gop-senators-depart/acting-attorney-general-todd-blanche-testifies-to-senate-judiciary-committee-at-his-confirmation-hearing-2" rel="attachment wp-att-1147257"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1147257" class="wp-image-1147257 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286226821-1-795x576.jpg" alt="" width="795" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286226821-1-795x576.jpg 795w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286226821-1-300x217.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286226821-1-768x557.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286226821-1.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 795px) 100vw, 795px" /></a>Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention,&#8221; Trump said in a Truth Social post. &#8220;I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.&#8221;
The president described Blanche as a &#8220;star&#8221; with the &#8220;potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time.&#8221; Trump also criticized Cornyn and Tillis for refusing to vote for Blanche, saying he had destroyed their political careers.
Cornyn had threatened to derail Blanche&#8217;s nomination over the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, a plan the DOJ said it had abandoned after pushback from lawmakers. On Wednesday, Cornyn told Punchbowl News that the DOJ&#8217;s written proposal did not satisfy his demands.
“They know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it,” Cornyn said, sharing that he had cancelled a scheduled meeting with Blanche.
After Clinton-appointed Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order on the Anti-Weaponization Fund on May 29, Justice Department officials ultimately complied and dropped the matter.
“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,&#8221; Blanche testified at the time.
Trump tore into the Republicans who opposed the fund, telling the Daily Caller&#8217;s Reagan Reese from the Oval Office: “Well, Congress didn’t want it. You have to talk to Congress. The Republican senators, some of them, got very weak knees. They didn’t have the stomach for the fight.”

Jury Selection Continues In Former President Donald Trump’s New York Hush Money Trial

Trump Threatens To Pull Blanche Nomination Until Problematic GOP Senators Depart

Republicans

The Trump administration announced Monday that it is taking enforcement action against two public school districts accused of concealing students&#8217; gender identity information from parents, warning the districts could face lawsuits and the loss of federal funding for violating federal privacy law.
The Department of Education said it has partnered with the Justice Department to pursue enforcement against Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland. It also gave Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan until August 10 to explain why similar action should not move forward. 
The investigations center on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which guarantees parents access to their children&#8217;s education records. The Trump administration argues that school policies directing staff to withhold information about a student&#8217;s gender identity or social transition from parents violate those protections.
&#8220;As a mother and a grandmother, it is unconscionable that any school district would hide the most sensitive information about children in their care from their own parents,&#8221; Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/trump-administration-cracks-down-school-districts-secretly-transitioning-students-and-hiding-it-parents">statement</a>. &#8220;This is not only an affront to basic moral principles, but also to parents&#8217; rights under federal law.&#8221;
&#8220;Today, ED and DOJ are putting districts on notice that we will use every tool available to hold them to account for this egregious behavior,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Under the Trump Administration, ED and DOJ are working together to vigorously uphold parents&#8217; federal protections, and we will work to ensure that no parent is ever kept in the dark about important matters relating to their children.&#8221;
According to the Education Department, its Student Privacy Policy Office received complaints from parents in Anne Arundel County who discovered their daughter was being referred to by male pronouns at school. The parents said they learned about the situation only after receiving an email from school staff.
When the parents sought information about what the school described as their child&#8217;s &#8220;gender transition,&#8221; the principal allegedly refused to provide details while an assistant principal declined to turn over relevant records, prompting the federal investigation. The Education Department said Anne Arundel County improperly classified information about a student&#8217;s so-called &#8220;gender identity&#8221; as confidential medical information that could not be shared with parents. The agency said those practices unlawfully prevented parents from exercising their rights under FERPA.
The action comes weeks after the same parents <a href="https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/arundel-schools-transgender-children-policies-lawsuit-6BKCHH25O5HP7FLPPGNF7RQFWU/">filed a federal lawsuit</a> against the district with representation from America First Legal, the conservative organization founded by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The lawsuit claims school officials socially transitioned their daughter by using a masculine name and pronouns without notifying or obtaining consent from her parents. The Education Department said it is working with the Justice Department&#8217;s Civil Rights Division to pursue enforcement against the Maryland district, including potential judicial proceedings and termination of federal funding.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the administration intends to aggressively enforce the law. &#8220;School districts that hide information from parents are violating federal law,&#8221; Dhillon said. &#8220;FERPA is not optional, and any districts that attempt to bypass or distort its requirements should expect immediate federal action.&#8221;
Additionally, the administration found Ann Arbor Public Schools&#8217; policy requiring employees to conceal a student&#8217;s &#8220;transgender status&#8221; from parents likely violates FERPA. Federal officials also questioned the district&#8217;s practice of maintaining records related to a student&#8217;s &#8220;gender identity&#8221; in a separate filing system. 
The Education Department said the cases build on a broader effort by the Trump administration to strengthen parental rights. Earlier this year, the department launched statewide investigations into policies that allegedly concealed students&#8217; &#8220;gender identity&#8221; from parents and issued a finding against the California Department of Education over the use of secret &#8220;gender support plans&#8221; and hidden student records.
In March 2025, the department sent a nationwide <a href="https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/sites/default/files/resource_document/file/Secretary_Comb_SPPO_DCL_Annual%20Notice_0.pdf">letter</a> reminding state education officials that concealing a child&#8217;s &#8220;gender identity&#8221; from parents was a priority enforcement issue under FERPA.
FERPA violations can ultimately result in the loss of federal education funding, though that penalty has historically been used sparingly.

Transgender Symbol and Pencils With The Color of Lgbt Flag

Trump Admin Takes Action Against School Districts Hiding ‘Transgender Status’ From Parents

Civil Rights

Civil Rights Division

Department of Education

Gender Pronouns

Gender Transition

Harmeet Dhillon

LGBT

LGBTQ

Linda McMahon

Maryland

Michigan

Parental Rights

Parental Rights in Education

Pronouns

Public Schools

trans

trans kids

Transgenders

Transparency

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is holding up and threatening to derail Todd Blanche&#8217;s nomination as U.S. attorney general over a $1.8 billion &#8220;anti-weaponization&#8221; fund, which the Justice Department says it has no plans to pursue.
The Texas Republican, fresh off a bruising primary defeat, says Thursday&#8217;s Senate Judiciary Committee vote to advance Blanche&#8217;s nomination likely won&#8217;t happen without additional guarantees from the White House.
<a href="https://x.com/LauraEWeiss16/status/2082470661281177633?s=20">Punchbowl reported</a> Wednesday that the DOJ sent Cornyn a written proposal in an effort to satisfy his demands. It did not work. 
“They know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it,” Cornyn <a href="https://x.com/LauraEWeiss16/status/2082475546596757684?s=20">told</a> Punchbowl, announcing he called off his scheduled meeting with Blanche.
Ahead of that now-canceled meeting, Cornyn took to social media Tuesday to draw his line in the sand: “Fake news alert: there is no &#8216;deal&#8217; on Blanche nom. They know what they have to do,” Cornyn <a href="https://x.com/JohnCornyn/status/2082141659786051682?s=20">posted</a>.
Cornyn is working with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who also serves on the Judiciary Committee, to secure additional commitments that the Justice Department will amend its settlement with President Trump to explicitly rule out a $1.8 billion &#8220;anti-weaponization&#8221; fund.
The controversy started in May, when Trump agreed to <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441086/dl?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery">dismiss</a> his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a formal apology and the creation of a new $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-establishes-1-776b-fund-to-combat-deep-state-weaponization">The Daily Wire</a> reported. The program would&#8217;ve compensated people who say federal authorities unfairly targeted them under the Biden administration. A separate provision of the agreement also barred the IRS from pursuing certain tax claims against Trump, his family, and their businesses. 
Only a few weeks later, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-gop-revolted-against-trumps-anti-weaponization-fund">Anti-Weaponization Fund was dead</a>. Clinton-appointed Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order May 29, blocking the Justice Department from taking further action on the fund. Justice Department officials complied, and after tense meetings with Senate Republicans, acting Attorney General Blanche testified: “We are not moving forward with the fund, period.” 
President Trump blasted Republicans who opposed the agreement. 
“Well, Congress didn’t want it,” President Trump told The Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese from the Oval Office. “You have to talk to Congress. The Republican senators, some of them, got very weak knees. They didn’t have the stomach for the fight.”
The DOJ&#8217;s pledge to scrap the fund hasn&#8217;t satisfied Cornyn, who was supposed to meet with Blanche before Thursday&#8217;s committee vote. With all Democrats opposed, a single Republican vote against Blanche would effectively kill his nomination. 
“We need it in writing. We don’t need well-wishes or, you know, impressions,” he said, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/28/congress/todd-blanche-judiciary-committee-delay-01013621?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=5c65d8fa-b7c7-44e5-98d0-43e6086e71cd">Politico</a>. “We need concrete confirmation.”
Tillis has suggested to Politico that he is “pretty much following Cornyn’s cue.&#8221; 
Cornyn’s threat comes one week after he <a href="https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-secures-commitment-from-trump-admin-to-release-pepfar-funds/">successfully threatened</a> to block two of President Donald Trump’s ambassadorial nominees unless the administration released more than $1 billion in foreign aid funding for Africa. 
A White House official previously told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-cornyn-threatens-to-sink-trump-nominees-over-foreign-aid-cuts?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=22&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=John+Cornyn+Threatens+To+Sink+Trump+Nominees+Over+Foreign+Aid+Cuts">The Daily Wire</a> that the Trump administration has strengthened President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) by providing clearer strategic direction, encouraging greater recipient-country ownership, and sharpening the program’s focus on measurable health outcomes.
The Trump-Cornyn clashes come just weeks after Cornyn suffered a decisive defeat in the GOP primary to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, despite spending months courting Trump&#8217;s endorsement.
“The only way it seems like you can get the administration’s attention on some of these funding issues is by using the leverage to withhold votes on nominees,” Cornyn told <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/07/21/2026/cornyn-threatens-to-sink-trump-nominees-over-pepfar">Semafor</a>. “We are going to use the committee vote tomorrow as a way to … get the money distributed the way Congress appropriated it.”

Sen. John Cornyn

Senator Scorned By Trump Threatens To Hold AG Nominee Hostage Over Weaponization Fund

News

President Trump

Texas

U.S. Senate

The Department of Justice has launched a criminal probe into Florida Republican Congressman Cory Mills in connection with his finances, a source familiar with the investigation told The Daily Wire.
The probe comes as Mills is already under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over alleged campaign finance violations and accusations of sexual misconduct. The Florida Republican, who is running for re-election with President Donald Trump&#8217;s endorsement, has denied any wrongdoing. 
Mills said he was unaware of the reported federal investigation. 
“This is the first I’m hearing about it,” Mills told leftist outlet MS NOW. “The FEC dismissed all the campaign stuff.”  
In November, the House Ethics Committee launched an <a href="https://ethics.house.gov/press-releases/statement-of-the-chairman-and-ranking-member-of-the-committee-on-ethics-regarding-representative-cory-mills-2/">investigation</a> into Mills for a range of allegations from “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence” to allegedly not following “campaign finance laws and regulations in connection with his 2022 and 2024 election campaigns.”
The congressman has said he is cooperating with the House Ethics Committee and has turned over the requested documents. It remains unclear when the investigation will conclude.
“If someone can give me a good reason, I’d be more than happy to listen to it. But until we can do that, absolutely not, no — I don’t plan to resign,” Mills <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/cory-mills-wont-resign-congress-ethics-probe-misconduct-allegations-rcna341305">said</a> to Capitol Hill reporters. “We’re going to seek re-election.” 
Republican leadership has also stood by Mills, brushing aside calls for his resignation and rejecting efforts to strip him of his committee assignments.
“The keyword there is allegation. We have a process here. The House Ethics Committee works on those things,&#8221; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) <a href="https://x.com/EricMGarcia/status/2079656846982324328?s=20">told reporters</a>. “I’m not in the business of commenting on investigations as they’re in process and we’ll see how that shakes out.” 
The Florida Republican has proven to be a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/as-congress-returns-one-question-looms-which-house-members-could-face-expulsion">political survivor</a>, avoiding expulsion votes and resisting calls to resign even as scandals led to the ouster of former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), who is facing criminal charges for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA funds to finance her congressional campaign.

Former President Donald Trump’s Hush Money Trial Continues In New York

Trump-Backed Congressman Faces New DOJ Probe

Congress

Cory Mills

The Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-seizes-more-1000-internet-domains-used-illegally-stream-world-cup-2026-matches">announced</a> Monday that it seized more than 1,000 internet domains used to illegally stream matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The crackdown, dubbed &#8220;Operation Offsides,&#8221; ran throughout the month-long tournament and resulted in the seizure of more than 1,000 websites and the blocking of nearly 2,000 domains, according to the DOJ. Investigators said they received more than 3,000 leads. 
“The sustained effort to seize more than a thousand domains dedicated to illegally streaming the World Cup confirms the administration’s commitment to intellectual property rights and to the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division said in the release.
Homeland Security Investigations Deputy Executive Associate Director Matthew Millhollin warned that many illegal streaming sites also expose users to malware and payment theft. 
“Criminals operating these unauthorized platforms are already willing to break the law when they stream copyrighted World Cup games, they might also be planning to inject malware or steal your payment information,” Millhollin said. “Protect your online presence and enjoy the finals with official streaming partners.”
The DOJ said the seized domains were “illegally offering users copyright-protected content in the form of real-time streams”. FIFA, beIN Media Group, NBC Universal, the Motion Picture Association’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Warner Brothers helped investigators identify the sites. The DOJ replaced and seized websites with a federal seizure notice. 
<div id="attachment_1139057" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1139057" class="size-medium wp-image-1139057" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/WebsiteSeizureGraphic-300x285.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="285" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/WebsiteSeizureGraphic-300x285.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/WebsiteSeizureGraphic.jpeg 400w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />U.S. Department of Justice</div>
The operation expanded on an enforcement action announced last month that resulted in the seizure of nearly 400 domains.
Separately, the DOJ said its International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property program participated in &#8220;Operation Red Card,&#8221; an international effort targeting digital piracy and counterfeiting linked to the World Cup in Colombia.
&nbsp;

INDIA-FBL-WC-2026-TAXI

While The World Watched Soccer, The DOJ Was Building A Case

copyright

Crime

justice department

World

World Cup

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that the Department of War and the Department of Justice have created a joint task force to identify and prosecute government officials accused of leaking sensitive national defense information.
<a href="https://x.com/SecWar/status/2076673841913344136">In a video posted on X</a>, Hegseth said unauthorized disclosures can endanger American troops, compromise military operations, and cause &#8220;exceptionally grave damage&#8221; to national security.
&#8220;The unauthorized disclosure of sensitive War Department information has the very real potential to cause exceptionally grave damage to our national security and the operational integrity of our armed forces,&#8221; Hegseth said. &#8220;To leak sensitive national defense information and secrets betrays the men and women who wear our nation&#8217;s uniform.&#8221;
Hegseth said that when a leak occurs, it is critical for the department to quickly provide the Department of Justice, FBI, and other federal law enforcement agencies with actionable information.
According to Hegseth, the new directive expands the authority of the War Department&#8217;s Office of General Counsel to obtain records and other information related to leak investigations and requires department personnel to respond within 48 hours. 
&#8220;The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines,&#8221; Hegseth said. &#8220;Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust. And those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.&#8221;
The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues pursuing multiple investigations into leaks involving sensitive national security information. 
The announcement follows several recent investigations in which Trump administration officials said unauthorized disclosures threatened national security.
One recent investigation centered on media reports that two U.S. service members had gone down inside Iran during U.S. military operations earlier this year. One airman had been rescued while search efforts continued for a second.
President Donald Trump later said those reports placed the rescue operation &#8220;at great risk&#8221; because they alerted Iran that an American service member remained inside the country.
&#8220;All of a sudden, the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life,&#8221; Trump said.
Trump also said the disclosure made the rescue <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/furious-trump-threatens-jail-for-reporters-targets-sick-leaker-who-risked-rescue">mission more difficult</a> for American personnel. According to Trump, the second service member was eventually rescued during an operation involving 155 U.S. aircraft. Trump said his administration was attempting to identify the source of the leak.
Another investigation involves a New York Times report detailing why Trump departed Turkey aboard the older Air Force One instead of the newly accepted Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar.
According to<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-nyt-story-that-just-triggered-doj-subpoenas"> The Daily Wire</a>, citing federal law enforcement sources, a senior FBI official urged the New York Times not to publish the story, warning that it contained highly sensitive national security information. The news outlet ultimately published the report, citing unnamed sources discussing the aircraft&#8217;s security protocols.
The Justice Department later issued grand jury subpoenas to four New York Times reporters connected to the story. A DOJ spokesman told The Daily Wire, &#8220;Reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.&#8221;

Secretary Hegseth And Chairman Caine Hold Pentagon Press Briefing On Iran Strikes

Pete Hegseth Reveals What’s Coming For Government Leakers

leaks

Media

New York Times

Pete Hegseth

The New York Times

War Department

WASHINGTON — Fourteen women who say they were harmed by abortion drugs are urging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to settle a federal lawsuit over mail-order abortion drugs involving a woman who says she was coerced into aborting her unborn baby by her boyfriend, according to a letter exclusively obtained by The Daily Wire.
The letter comes ahead of Blanche&#8217;s scheduled confirmation hearings, currently set for July 15 and July 16, indicating that Blanche may face questions from Republican senators on the Justice Department&#8217;s attitude toward mail-order abortion drugs. Under President Joe Biden, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made it much easier for women to obtain abortion drugs through the mail without safety precautions.
Pro-abortion advocates have argued that the coronavirus pandemic made it necessary for women to be able to abort their babies at home using mail-order abortion drugs. Opponents of the drugs argue that abortions-by-mail have been found to harm many women and open the door to <a href="https://sbaprolife.org/latest-news/abortion-drugs-fuel-abuse-the-women-poisoned-against-their-will">documented cases of coercion and violence</a>.
&#8220;The Department of Justice must act now to protect women by listening to and standing with Rosalie Markezich, rather than fighting against her in litigation,&#8221; reads a letter sent to Blanche on July 8, signed by Tramelle Jones, Sara Huff, Elizabeth Henschel, Dora Rhode Esparza, Jannette Houston, Grace Cardoso, Abby Johnson, Kelly Lester, Erin Woods, Alani Harmon, Haile McAnally, Shanyce Thomas, McKenzie Kaupa-Thiesse, and Jessica Williams.
The women describe how Markezich, as a young woman in Louisiana, was delighted to discover she was pregnant. Her boyfriend did not feel the same way.
&#8220;She wanted her baby. She worked with children, loved them, and did not reject the thought of motherhood,&#8221; they wrote. &#8220;Yet according to her account, her then-boyfriend changed his mind, used her information to obtain abortion drugs by mail from a California abortionist, and pressured her to take them even though she did not want to end her pregnancy.&#8221;
&#8220;We grieve with Rosalie because many of us recognize parts of our own stories in hers: the pressure, the confusion, the fear, the absence of real medical care, and the feeling that the system was designed to move drugs faster than it was designed to protect women. No woman should be forced, pressured, deceived, or abandoned into taking drugs that end her child’s life and place her own health at risk.&#8221;
The women blame the FDA&#8217;s abortion drug policy for putting Markezich in this situation, warning Blanche that the policy is &#8220;the same policy the Department is defending in court&#8221; through Louisiana v. FDA. They urge the acting attorney general to side with Markezich and settle her legal case immediately so that &#8220;abortion drugs are no longer sent through the mail in ways that put women at risk.&#8221;
&#8220;The federal government should not defend policies that make it easier for men, abusers, traffickers, or anyone else to obtain abortion drugs in a woman’s name and pressure her to take them in isolation,&#8221; they write.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, told The Daily Wire on Wednesday that the current crisis of mail-order abortion drugs is a &#8220;direct result of Biden federal policy.&#8221; Her organization has documented a number of cases of abortion drug coercion and violence across the nation, including the alarming story of a U.S. Army captain sentenced to 12 years in prison who poisoned a female junior soldier with mifepristone and killed their baby.
&#8220;Again,&#8221; she said, &#8220;we implore Acting AG Blanche as the Senate weighs his nomination: please, listen to the survivors and settle the case without further delay.”
A Fifth Circuit panel had previously found that Markezich&#8217;s case was &#8220;strongly likely&#8221; to succeed based on their claim that the FDA mail-order abortion rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act. But opponents of the abortion drugs argue that the litigation will take a long time to resolve while women and babies are continuing to be harmed.
&#8220;Settling this case would send a clear message that women’s safety matters, that coercion is real, that state laws protecting women and unborn children deserve respect, and that the Department of Justice will not ignore the real-world consequences of weakened abortion-drug safeguards,&#8221; write the fourteen women harmed by abortion drugs.
&#8220;We do not all share the same story, the same zip code, or the same season of life,&#8221; they added. &#8220;But we are united in asking the Department of Justice to recognize the harm women have suffered and to act before more women are placed in similar danger. For Rosalie, and for women and girls across the country who may never have the chance to tell their stories publicly, we ask you to act with urgency: side with Rosalie, settle the case, and help restore safeguards that can prevent further harm.&#8221;
Signer Haile McAnally took abortion drugs that were given to her at an abortion center, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America shared, but when she got home, she began hemorrhaging in her bathtub. A friend discovered her and rushed her to the emergency room where she received a blood transfusion and doctors were able to save her life.
&#8220;I am supporting Rosalie because, like so many women, I fell prey to the propaganda surrounding the abortion pill — and it nearly took my life,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire on Wednesday. &#8220;I received mine in person at a clinic and still suffered serious medical complications; now these drugs are being shipped across the country with little to no oversight. For the health and safety of women, we have to do better — that starts with immediately stopping the mail shipment of these pills.&#8221;
Another signer, Jessica Williams, shared that she was pressured to abort her child by her estranged husband and ordered the drugs online through chat, with no screening. The abortion drugs shipped across state lines to a hotel where she picked them up, took them, and then immediately regretted her choice and called a pregnancy center where she obtained abortion pill reversal.
She named her baby daughter, who survived and is thriving, Kaylee Grace, partially after the pregnancy center that helped her.
&#8220;Every woman deserves to make decisions free from coercion or pressure and with appropriate medical support, screenings &amp; safeguards,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The abortion pill carries an FDA black box warning label, as it is not an over-the-counter drug and comes with real risks to the lives of both mother and baby.  I am a nurse and a woman who has experienced coercion from a partner to take the pill, but my child was saved by abortion pill reversal. Some women and children are not that fortunate because of mail-order drugs.&#8221;

Acting AG Todd Blanche Testifies In Senate Hearing On Tuesday Morning

EXCLUSIVE: Women Harmed By Abortion Drugs Send A Message To Todd Blanche

Former CIA Director John Brennan, who helped oversee the intelligence community&#8217;s investigation into alleged ties between Donald Trump&#8217;s 2016 campaign and Russia, sued the Justice Department on Wednesday before prosecutors have even charged him with a crime.
Brennan filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking an order requiring the Trump administration to preserve records related to two ongoing Justice Department investigations examining his conduct.
The move comes as federal investigators continue probing Brennan&#8217;s role in the intelligence community&#8217;s 2017 assessment concluding that Russia sought to help Trump win the 2016 election, as well as whether Brennan gave misleading testimony to Congress about that assessment during testimony in 2023.
No criminal charges have been filed against Brennan. Nevertheless, Brennan&#8217;s legal team argues that any future prosecution would amount to political retaliation by the Trump administration and says preserving government records now is necessary to support what they describe as an eventual defense against &#8220;vindictive and selective prosecution.&#8221;
&#8220;This Administration has adopted a policy of using criminal process and prosecution to punish the President&#8217;s perceived adversaries,&#8221; Brennan&#8217;s attorneys wrote in the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102.1.0.pdf">46-page complaint.</a> The filing names President Donald Trump, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, and several Justice Department officials involved in the investigations. 
According to Brennan&#8217;s attorneys, they fear government officials may fail to preserve internal communications that could be relevant if prosecutors ultimately seek an indictment. The Justice Department declined to confirm whether Brennan is under criminal investigation.
&#8220;While we cannot comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of an investigation, it is certainly rich that John Brennan is accusing anyone of a &#8216;retribution campaign,'&#8221; a DOJ spokesman said to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-cia-chief-john-brennan-sues-trump-administration-demands-court-preserve-investigation-records">Fox News Digital</a>. The investigations into Brennan have steadily expanded over the past year.
One inquiry centers on whether Brennan misled Congress regarding the intelligence community&#8217;s conclusions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan previously referred Brennan to the Justice Department for possible prosecution after questioning his congressional testimony.
Investigators have also reportedly interviewed current and former intelligence officials involved in drafting the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment that concluded Moscow sought to boost Trump&#8217;s candidacy.
That review has focused in part on whether the controversial <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-sues-christopher-steele-over-shocking-and-scandalous-claims-made-in-discredited-dossier?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Sues+Christopher+Steele+Over+%E2%80%98Shocking+And+Scandalous%E2%80%99+Claims+Made+In+Discredited+Dossier">Steele dossier</a> — a collection of unverified allegations about Trump funded by his political opponents — inappropriately influenced the intelligence assessment&#8217;s conclusions. Brennan has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has maintained that the intelligence community&#8217;s assessment accurately reflected Russia&#8217;s efforts to interfere in the election.
A separate Justice Department investigation reportedly examines what prosecutors have described as a broader conspiracy involving Obama-era and Biden-era officials, looking into whether multiple investigations targeting Trump—including the Russia probe and later criminal investigations—were part of a coordinated effort to undermine him politically.
Brennan&#8217;s attorneys argue that those investigations themselves demonstrate political bias. The complaint points to personnel changes inside the Justice Department, including the replacement of a career national security prosecutor with Joseph diGenova, a former Trump attorney who has publicly called Brennan &#8220;evil&#8221; and a &#8220;traitor.&#8221;
The filing also alleges prosecutors attempted to move aspects of the investigation between different U.S. Attorney&#8217;s offices and sought venues that Brennan&#8217;s lawyers believe would be more favorable to the government&#8217;s case.
Rather than waiting to challenge an indictment, Brennan is asking the court to preserve emails, memoranda, witness statements, status reports, and other internal communications that could later become evidence supporting claims that prosecutors acted with improper political motives.
The filing comes as the Trump administration continues investigating several high-profile officials connected to previous investigations into Trump, including former intelligence and FBI personnel involved in the Russia inquiry. 
Whether Brennan is ultimately charged remains unknown. His lawsuit seeks to preserve records he argues could become relevant if prosecutors later bring charges.

CIA Director John Brennan Testifies To Senate Committee Hearing On National Security

Former Spy Chief Behind Russia Collusion Probe Takes Unusual Legal Step

Courts

John Brennan

Lawsuit

Russia Collusion Hoax

A New York woman was arrested and charged with attempting to send money to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/upstate-new-york-woman-arrested-charged-attempting-provide-material-support-palestine">announced</a> Tuesday.
Catherine Beth Washburn, 37, of Irondequoit, New York, was charged by criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support and resources, namely currency, to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also known as Al-Quds Brigades. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to the report, Washburn is a leader of the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, or DAMPL, which the Justice Department described as an extremist organization formed after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Prosecutors said DAMPL rejects peaceful protest and engages in “direct action,” including sabotage and property destruction, in support of the Palestinian cause and against entities it associates with Israel.
“As alleged, <a href="https://x.com/DOJNatSec/status/2072070845640433955">Washburn repeatedly voiced support for violence against Israeli civilians</a> and attempted to provide material support to the Palestine Islamic Jihad by sending cryptocurrency to an individual who claimed to participate in its attacks,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said. “Those who aid foreign terrorist groups will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Federal investigators said the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force executed search warrants in February and March 2026 and recovered electronic messages between Washburn and an individual who identified as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighter in Gaza. The individual allegedly claimed to have taken part in attacks against Israel.
In one message cited by prosecutors, Washburn allegedly wrote, “If I lived in Gaza, I would fight alongside the resistance.” She also allegedly wrote, “I wish every day were October 7th,” and said she hated Jews “very much” and wished Israel “would disappear.”
Prosecutors said Washburn and the individual discussed alleged Palestinian Islamic Jihad attacks on Israel, weapons, and ammunition. In another message, Washburn allegedly wrote, “I feel excited every time I see news of the killing of an occupation soldier.”
An analysis of financial records determined that Washburn made approximately 80 cryptocurrency transfers totaling about $30,116, to an account used by the individual, according to the Justice Department.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo for the Western District of New York said Washburn was stopped before her alleged efforts could continue.
“Despite her alleged attempts, including cryptic communications with a fighter involved in violent attacks in an area thousands of miles away, Catherine Washburn was stopped and so too were her efforts to support violent extremism,” DiGiacomo said.
Acting Assistant Director Coult Markovsky of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division said the FBI remains focused on cutting off funding to terrorist groups.
“The FBI is committed to cutting off funding to terrorist groups and will continue to work side-by-side with our Justice Department partners to make sure anyone who engages in terrorism or provides assistance to such organizations is held fully accountable in our justice system,” Markovsky said.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Islamic Jihad Hold Gaza Rally

Feds Arrest American For Trying To Fund Jihadists

New York

Terrorism

Menu

DOJ